iPhone 3G S vs Palm Pre: Total Cost of Ownership

When it comes to buying a mobile phone, there’s more to consider than just the up-front price tag. The “total cost of ownership” (TCO) is sometimes a more revealing way to consider the overall cost of a particular cellphone. Especially when two phones offer similar sticker prices. For example, the two hottest smartphones this summer are the Palm Pre and Apple iPhone 3G S, and both are available for $200 when purchased with new 2-year contract. So, which handset costs more in the long run?

iphone-3g-s-palm-pre-billshrink

Phone bill comparison site BillShrink crunched the numbers and have posted a new comparison of the iPhone 3G S, T-Mobile G1 and Palm Pre’s total cost of ownership. Turns out, the Palm Pre is the cheaper smartphone to own in the long run. A Palm Pre paired with Sprint’s unlimited voice, data and messaging plans will take a total of $2,400 out of your wallet after two years, but an Apple iPhone 3G S with unlimited voice, data and messaging from AT&T will ding you for $3,600 over the course of the 2-year wireless contract. That makes the Palm Pre a $1,200 cheaper smartphone.

But, that’s not the end of the story.

BillShrink’s comparison pits the Palm Pre against the iPhone 3G S on similar rate plans. But, the Palm Pre can only be purchased with one of Sprint’s unlimited plans, whereas the iPhone 3G S can be paired with lower-cost monthly rate plans. In a true Apples-to-apples comparison, the Palm Pre’s TCO proves cheaper. However, when you consider that most people won’t need unlimited messaging or voice minutes, the iPhone 3G S’s TCO may not be that much more expensive than the Palm Pre.

If unlimited voice and messaging isn’t important to you, both the iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre are likely to cost about the same over two years. But, if you really need unlimited voice minutes and messaging allotments, the Palm Pre is the obviously better deal.

[Via: BillShrink]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...

Nils Davis

How much is that Sprint unlimited voice and data worth to me when I’m in Europe for a week on vacation or for work? That’s not exactly an intangible cost, although it’s hard to calculate. I don’t think BillShrink is going to try to add it to their model, but it’s the number one thing on my mind right now, after my four day trip to Finland last week when I didn’t have the use of a phone or mobile browser, because I use a Sprint Treo.
ray

You can get Sprint’s Everything plan with 450 minutes voice and unlimited everything else for $69.99 so it’s still cheaper than AT&T
Martha

the iPhone 3G looks very cool and feature packed. i will be saving some of my allowance to buy that phone.
Willy

Your point is well taken Nils. Obviously it pays to plan ahead and think about where you’re going to be using these devices and how much use you will make of them before making your selection. Clearly they are all ‘de rigueur’ among propeller heads, but the TCO was an eye-opener to me. Ordinarily I’d say thanks, but no thanks, but that decision was made for me. Tho a resident of one of Houston’s tonier suburbs (Cinco Ranch) we have practically “no bars” from any of the providers, with the possible exception of Verizon. You see, our HOA, in their infinite wisdom, has very successfully fought against the proliferation of cell towers. Neither AT&T nor Sprint devices find any usable signal inside my home. In fact I thought I was living inside a faraday shield until a neighbor clued me in.
Nicky

That chart created seems a little biased to me. What’s the point of showing that the iphone has Nike+integration and not showing that the Palm Pre has a slide out keyboard.

The majority of people using the 2 phones will notice the keyboard a lot more than Nike+Integration.